**Hibbett Sports, Inc.** (NASDAQ:HIBB) reported a decline in its second-quarter sales on Thursday that missed analysts’ estimates, while its first-half sales inched forward slightly. The company also announced a reduction in its full-year earnings per share outlook due to lower-than-expected margins and elevated expenses..
**Q2 Fiscal 2023 Financial Performance**.
* Net sales declined by 3.5% to $329.2 million, falling short of the consensus estimate of $333.7 million..
* Comparable store sales decreased by 2.9%..
*Gross margin contracted by 170 basis points to 32.6%..
* Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased by 4.2% to $114.6 million..
* Net income fell by 35.1% to $25.2 million..
* Diluted earnings per share (EPS) decreased by 34.6% to $1.56, below the Street’s forecast of $1.66..
**H1 Fiscal 2023 Financial Performance**.
* Net sales edged up by 0.5% to $696.3 million..
* Comparable store sales rose by 0.6%..
* Gross margin decreased by 20 basis points to 35.4%..
* SG&A expenses increased by 4.4% to $229.5 million..
* Net income declined by 12.8% to $52.7 million..
* Diluted EPS fell by 12.2% to $3.26..
**Outlook**.
Hibbett lowered its full-year EPS guidance to a range of $5.00 to $5.25, down from its previous estimate of $5.25 to $5.50. The company attributed the revision to lower-than-expected gross margins and higher-than-anticipated expenses..
**Management Commentary**.
